The honeycomb pattern of glass discs seems a bit fancy for a manhole cover, but it functions more for what's below than above. Vault lights are thick glass convex lenses invented in 1845 by Thaddeus Hyatt to disperse light into basement spaces under city streets and sidewalks. In the nineteenth century, before electricity, it could be hazardous to burn oil and gas lamps in these underground "areaways."

03.05.23